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Edited on Sat Apr-02-05 11:26 AM by Fly by night
A HANDFUL OF REASONS TO COME TO NASHVILLE APRIL 8-10, OR TO
PAY ATTENTION TO THE NATIONAL ELECTION REFORM CONFERENCE
(WHEREVER YOU ARE)
1. The National Election Reform Conference will provide an opportunity for anyone who is seriously concerned about election reform and election justice to meet others of like mind and similar commitment from throughout the country, in the springtime in the South. Right now, we have people coming to the conference from almost half the states, and more are registering every day. This will be a unique opportunity to co-mingle researchers, legislators, election reform/justice advocates and grassroots voting rights organizations to learn together and begin to decide – together – where we must go to repair and restore the franchise. And it is happening now.
2. There are many facets to the 2004 election fraud "story" which persist, and the quality and volume of evidence for a tampered-with election process continues to grow, both nationally and in many individual states. The National Election Reform Conference will provide an opportunity to receive an in-depth briefing of the experiences of at least a dozen states that will provide considerable evidence to demonstrate the immediate need to repair and reform our election process. At the same time, the conference will allow all of us to be updated together about the important developments in these and other states that are moving us toward real election reform and election justice. We all need to get on the same page, and Nashville on April 8-10 is that "page".
3. We remain convinced that the American media has a principally-untapped reservoir of newsworthy stories available to them on the 2004 election and the need for election reform. We have followed the excellent coverage on the 2004 election that has appeared scattered and sporadic throughout local media around the country, but we remain convinced that the "story of the century" remains largely untouched by the mainstream media. We believe that the National Election Reform Conference will be the best place for all media who are attuned to the 2004 election fraud story to "refresh" this story by being updated with the rest of us on many aspects of this story. At the same time, we view the conference as a place where the total coverage of this story, and its penetration into other media outlets and forms, can also expand. We have a number of media representatives who are aware of the conference and several documentary film-makers coming to film the event. We hope that, in the next week, we can interest many more journalists to join us for this newsworthy event.
4. At the present time, we see an election reform and election justice movement filled with highly energetic, committed and focused people. We also see a plethora of newly formed organizations and communication arenas devoted to election reform that have joined the fewer number of organizations for which voting rights have been a long-standing concern. The National Election Reform Conference will allow us a forum to share our priorities, our strategies and our histories; particularly in the discussion groups that are scheduled before and after the conference plenary sessions. Before we can ever succeed in achieving true election reform and election justice in our country, we must be able to hear (and not just talk or type at) each other. We must be willing to learn that there are many paths available for us to take our country back, and that we can work together to achieve that patriotic goal. Gathering together in Nashville, we can get those movement-building blocks laid.
5. Once again ... springtime in the South. Though I know that forecasts a week ahead of time are like exit polls these days – subject to major modification – our weather people are calling for sunny skies and temps in the low 70s on Friday, April 8. What better time and place than the early spring of 2005 in the South to begin planting the seeds for a regrowth of our nation's democratic foundations. We are happy to offer Nashville as the place where that rebirth can begin. Why Tennessee? Because our state has a proud history as a pivotal place in the expansion of the franchise in this country. And because we were the first place to step forward and offer to host this national Gathering. We are honored and humbled by the widespread support that the idea of a national conference has received over the past few months. Without the persistent and persuasive early encouragement that we received from throughout the country for the conference idea, and the willingness of a small number of local individuals and organizations to support us directly in accomplishing this Gathering, it would not have been possible. But after all, Tennessee is the Volunteer State, so we come by this role naturally.
Come to Nashville, April 8-10.(www.freepress.org/conf.php) We're the ones we've been waiting for.
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